Imagining vehicles from scratch

The exterior of a car can be ready for tweaking thanks to a special robot used at NDE. That way exterior designers can see what has been transformed from paper to real life (Photo: Nissan) [PNG Merlin Archive]

One working tool NDE has is a robotic clay modelling machine that carves out sections of vehicle's exterior.

Nissan

Nissan Design Europe opened its doors in January of 2003 and has around 50 staff working in the heart of Central London.

Nissan

One working tool NDE has is a robotic clay modelling machine that carves out sections of vehicle's exterior.

Nissan

Taking shape: Nissan Design Europe is an automotive design hub in heart of London

Originally published: April 15, 2014

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It’s no secret that global automotive companies set up shop in prominent cities around the world. In fact, it’s generally the rule, not the exception. And it makes sense.

But the same can’t always be said about automakers’ design studios; the places where new cars are imagined, put onto page then into production. Especially in the heart of a major metropolitan district.

Why?

Real estate is generally hard to come by, very expensive and doesn’t cater to an expanding staff.

Nissan Design Europe opened its doors in January of 2003 and has around 50 staff working in the heart of Central London.Nissan,

When Nissan Design Europe (NDE) opened its doors in 1990, it started out in Cranfield, U.K., then two years later, moved to Munich, Germany.

However, in 2003, it was relocated into the heart of Central London, into what’s called The Rotunda. In its former life, The Rotunda — an elliptically shaped building — was a British Rail maintenance depot. It was built in the 1960s and by the ’80s, it had seen better days.

It needed a little TLC before the staff of over 50 people could call it home, and in the fall of 2002, renovations started and its doors opened in January of 2003. In its darker days, The Rotunda had seen its fair share of graffiti artists make their tags on the walls. Since the building is a registered heritage property, certain attributes were to remain unchanged. Therefore, the graffiti from its younger days still remains as part of its personality.

And perhaps inspiration to some of the 50-plus employees that call this building their home away from home?

That’s just one of its notable features. The building is fairly easy to spot, as well. Just look for the shapely building in the Paddington Basin.

Among the 50 employees, who hail from a variety of nationalities — the number 14 was mentioned but that can grow at any time — there are designers, modellers, people who work with colour and trim and more.

One working tool NDE has is a robotic clay modelling machine that carves out sections of vehicle’s exterior.Nissan,

An average workday — though I’m not sure you could call it ‘average’ to work in London in an automotive design studio — for one of the employees could be on a concept car, or helping design a production vehicle.

Another fun project that NDE has within its walls is one that involves working on designing cars for video games. I’m not sure about you, but that would be amazing! Too bad I can’t draw.

Having been inside the curvaceous walls of NDE, its aura felt like it facilitates the creativity of individuals who want to prosper.

I didn’t have an all access pass (darn) but one area we were able to see was a clay modelling machine.

It might not sound incredibly exciting, but to watch the robot at work was quite astounding.

It was mentioned that a file of a vehicle is downloaded into the machine’s computer, and it can carve out large sections of a concept car or a production vehicle in hours. Or if it’s a larger job, over the weekend. So come Monday morning, designers and engineers can start moulding the clay to tweak design lines or even aerodynamics.

The exterior of a car can be ready for tweaking thanks to a special robot used at NDE. That way exterior designers can see what has been transformed from paper to real life (Photo: Nissan) [PNG Merlin Archive],

As mentioned, NDE isn’t the only design studio the Japanese automaker has. There are 12 operating design studios globally within the Renault Nissan alliance, including Nissan Design America in San Diego.

Shiro Nakamura, Senior Vice President, Chief Creative Officer, mentioned in a presentation that the competing design facilities, “Respect each other’s identity.”
And to prevent any overlap of designs, the management meets regularly to make sure they’re not stepping on each other’s toes.

The EMERG-E and Q30 concept and Europe’s best-selling crossover, the Qashqai and Juke, are just a few vehicles that spawned from the NDE.

Whether it’s in Europe, North America or Asia, you can expect good things to come out of these design studios and onto the roads, or even into video games.